Henry Johnson Never Too Much (MCA) (STAR)(STAR...

September 06, 1990|By Chris Heim.

Henry Johnson

Never Too Much (MCA) (STAR)(STAR)

Johnson is a skilled, inventive guitarist with a warm, liquid Wes Montgomery tone. One of Chicago`s own, he built a solid reputation from work with Isaac Hayes, Joe Williams, Ramsey Lewis and Donny Hathaway and two solo albums showcasing his fluency in both pop-jazz and more rigorous mainstream styles. It`s a credit to Johnson`s enormous talent that he consistently takes the lightweight new age/quiet storm/elevator funk here in interesting new directions. But that`s not enough. On and on the album goes-from the opening Luther Vandross-penned title tune, through James Taylor`s ``Don`t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,`` to Johnson`s own pleasant, but faceless compositions-until it all runs together into one pastel blur. Johnson said he wanted this to be a more focused album, but he gripped so firmly onto one idea that all the circulation was cut off.